Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise

To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise

Jason Thorn… My brother’s childhood friend. Oh, how stupidly in love with that boy I was. He was the first boy that made me blush, my first official crush. Sounds beautiful so far, right? That excitement that bubbles up inside you, those famous butterflies you feel for the very first time—he was the reason for them all. But, you only get to live in that fairytale world until they crush your hopes and dreams and then stomp on your heart for good measure. And boy did he crush my little heart into pieces. After the stomping part, he became the boy I did my best to stay away from-and let me… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child neglect
  • Infidelity (secondary characters)
  • Parent with alcoholism recounted
  • Drugging
  • Death of parents

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

Charlie Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe. Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news – the Campus Killer, who’s tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again. Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh’s story. As she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide & attempted suicide mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Blood depiction
  • Murder
  • Stabbing, on-page
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping
  • Car accident, on-page & mentioned

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.. That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Classism
  • Infidelity
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Infertility
  • Cancer
  • Death of a parent

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Self-injury
  • Cancer
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic body horror
  • Dead bodies (theme)
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Death of children
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Genocide & mass murder
  • Infanticide
  • Child soldiers

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Infidelity mentioned (sc)
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Sports injury
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent

Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry

Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry

All I wanted to do was run away, I never expected to crash into his arms… After leaving the city life behind to escape my loveless marriage, I moved to small town Havenbarrow for a fresh start. What I didn’t expect was to find myself drawn to the town’s black sheep. They called him troubled. Cold. A man with a dark past. What everyone seemed to miss about Jax was the splashes of light in his eyes. The random acts of kindness he performed when no one was watching. The way he made me smile and laugh. Jax helped unpack the baggage I’d been carrying around with me… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a parent
  • Gun violence
  • Bullying

Reykjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indriðason

Reykjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indriðason

The loner Erlendur has recently joined the police force as a young officer. The beat on the streets in Reykjavik is busy: traffic accidents, theft, domestic violence, contraband… And an unexplained death. When a tramp he met regularly on the night shift is found drowned in a ditch no one seems to care. But his fate haunts Erlendur and drags him inexorably into the strange and dark underworld of the city.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse

Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman

Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman

The seven Shaw siblings have long been haunted by two early and profoundly consequential events. Told in turn back and forth over time, from the early twentieth century through the 1950s, each sibling relays their own version of the memories that surround both their mother’s mysterious death and the circumstances leading up to and beyond one sister’s scandalous teenage pregnancy. As they move into adulthood, the siblings assume various new roles: caretaker to their aging father, addict, enabler, academic, decorated veteran, widow, and mothers and fathers… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Teen pregnancy
  • Death of a mother

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Physical, verbal & emotional child abuse recounted
  • Parental abandonment
  • Panic attack
  • Suicide recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drugging mentioned
  • Stillbirth recounted
  • Blood & physical injuries depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father in a fire recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical assault
  • Explosion
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping & hostage situation
  • Blackmail
  • Colonialism & slavery discussed
  • Animal death mentioned

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods. Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again. But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental emotional abuse & neglect
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Audio & visual hallucinations
  • Self-harm for magic (cutting)
  • Blood depiction
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent